February 29, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A writer and mother has challenged Rick Santorum’s stance against abortion by explaining that she would have certainly aborted her son if she had known of his disability and attendant suffering before he was born.

“I’m so grateful that Ronan is my child, Emily Rapp wrote in her column appearing in Slate magazine. I also wish he’d never been born; no person should suffer in this way.”

Santorum, who has used his GOP presidential campaign to question abortion, contraception and the fallout from the sexual revolution, has pointed to his daughter Bella as a testament to his family’s dedication to the sanctity of life. Bella Santorum was born with Trisomy 18, a genetic disorder that is likely to end in death either before or shortly after birth. However, thanks to the Santorums’ perseverance, Bella has already celebrated her third birthday.

Rapp opens her column, which is headed by an image of herself and her son smiling at each other, by declaring that had she known of her sons maladies before birth, “I would have saved him from suffering.”

Rapps son, who is almost two, suffers from Tay-Sachs disease, a degenerative condition that has left him blind and paralyzed and that will likely lead to his death before long.

“I believe it would have been an act of love to abort him, knowing that his life would be primarily one of intense suffering,” writes Rapp.

The creative writing professor says that she loves her son more than any person in the world and his life is of utmost value to me, but adds that she would have aborted him “without question and without regret.”

The fact that she can hold both “truths,” she says, “points to the reductive and narrow-minded nature of Rick Santorum’s assertions” that prenatal testing for irreversible conditions is morally questionable due to its role in increasing abortions.

Rapp, who herself suffers from a congenital condition that caused her to lose one leg at an early age, said that her mother “probably wished she’d had the choice” to abort her, and that it would have been her prerogative to do so, even though doctors gave her incorrect information in predicting Rapp would become mentally disabled or never walk.

“Regardless of the fact that none of the doctors warnings had any truth to them, it would have been her choice to make,” she wrote.

Rapp concluded that Santorum’s stance against abortion advocates “a return to that oppressive historical situation where women were punished for having sex, for making any kind of reproductive choice whatsoever, for being women, for being human beings.” “Neither choice is bad or good; neither is this one thing or the other,” she wrote.”

Last October, the New York Times published Rapps paean to nurturing a terminally ill child. She described parents in similar circumstances as “dragon parents: fierce and loyal and loving as hell.”

“I would walk through a tunnel of fire if it would save my son. ... But it wont,” she wrote. “What I can do is protect my son from as much pain as possible, and then finally do the hardest thing of all, a thing most parents will thankfully never have to do: I will love him to the end of his life, and then I will let him go.”

For his part, Rick Santorum has described Bella, the youngest of seven living children, as the “joyful center of our universe” and has criticized doctors for encouraging the couple not to give her medical treatment following her diagnosis because she was not likely to see her first birthday.

In an October campaign video celebrating his daughter’s life, Santorum explains how he and his wife responded when a doctor one day advised the couple on how to care for Bella as she died. “Karen and I looked at each other and said, we’re not going to focus on her dying, we’re going to focus on her living,” he said.

“I look at her and I look at the joy and the simplicity and the love that she emits, and it’s clear to me that we’re the disabled ones, not her.”

A writer and mother has challenged Rick Santorums stance against abortion by explaining that she would have certainly aborted her son if she had known of his disability and attendant suffering before he was born.

As a point of information, ..... While anyone can be a carrier of Tay-Sachs, the incidence of the disease is significantly higher among people of eastern European (Ashkenazi) Jewish descent. Approximately one in every 27 Jews in the United States is a carrier of the Tay-Sachs disease gene.

Essentially, this mother would prefer to disinherit her heritage. I have the greatest respect for the Jews. They are proud of their heritage and tradition. More importantly, they cherish their heritage, both good and bad. This woman should devote more time to embracing the "gift" she has received from God, rather than regretting it.

5
posted on 03/01/2012 2:49:24 PM PST
by NYer
("Be kind to every person you meet. For every person is fighting a great battle." St. Ephraim)

Rapp, who herself suffers from a congenital condition that caused her to lose one leg at an early age, said that her mother probably wished shed had the choice to abort her, and that it would have been her prerogative to do so

You're a smart girl. Surely you can figure out how to carry out the wishes you imagine your mother had for you.

I'd have a lot more respect for these enlightened eugenecists if they'd point the finger of death at themselves before they point it at everyone else they manage to deem unworthy.

Rapp, who herself suffers from a congenital condition that caused her to lose one leg at an early age, said that her mother probably wished shed had the choice to abort her, and that it would have been her prerogative to do so, even though doctors gave her incorrect information in predicting Rapp would become mentally disabled or never walk.

Regardless of the fact that none of the doctors warnings had any truth to them, it would have been her choice to make, she wrote.

She wishes that she had killed her son and she wishes that her mother had killed her. The Culture of Death.

8
posted on 03/01/2012 2:55:45 PM PST
by iowamark
(The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves)

Wait, she also says her own mother (the grandmother) probably wished she could have aborted her, as well!

Some people thrive on being outrageous to gain attention, this author is one of those people.

Essentially she is totally full of crap, or sometimes a dramatist like her believes their own crapola. What difference does it make? Neither mother aborted their child but it makes for an outlandish article.

So, in essence, Emily Rapp, you say you love him and are glad that he is your son, but that you wish you had killed him.

Sorry lady, that's a sick view of the world and it tells your son, who if he lives long enough to read your words one day, that you really do not value his life or existance in this world. That you would rather have him dead, than have him, despite his suffering, have the chance to fight through and live.

You should think a whole lot more before you write, Emily, in support of what is becoming the worst Holocaust in History.

Its all about her and how she has to face to pain of her son dying. Even his pain is to much for HER to endure?
Otherwise, is she saying she wouldn’t have blamed her mother for aborting her if her mother would have known her daughter had a condition that required her to lose a leg?

When the nazis came to power in 1933 the one of their first acts they committed was to issue anti disability propaganda to the public, the nazis claimed that the existence of disabled people weakened societies ability to operate efficiently and that the social and economic problems that germany had suffered during the 1920s and 1930s were partly caused by the burden of supporting disabled people. The nazis stated that the life of mentally impaired and severely disabled were living a life unworthy of living.

The Nazis used posters that showed images of disabled people with captions such as DEFORMED and various others to gain support from the german public, later the nazis made a film which was purely propaganda depicting a husband carrying out a so called mercy killing

on his wife and then using the harsh and twisted nazi arguments to justify why he committed this criminal act of murder upon his wife.

In July 1933 the Nazis passed a law for the prevention of progeny with hereditary disease which ordered the forced sterilizations of all people with conditions the nazis considered hereditary disease and these included:

What a beautiful child. I couldn’t read much of the story because it’s difficult to read when I’m crying. I will say this, that I can only imagine how painful it must be for this woman to see her child suffer. She is wrong, but I feel very sorry for her and her son. I hope that she can find God and in so doing, find peace and acceptance.

24
posted on 03/01/2012 3:19:22 PM PST
by trisham
(Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.)

My daughter’s best friend has a daughter with the same condition as Santorum’s daughter. This little girl is the light of their lives. Don’t get me wrong, it has been a long road but she’s the sweetest, most loving child and all of her siblings pitch in to guide her progress. She has made incredible progress and who knows what lies ahead. The fact is that this family has put this precious child at the center of their lives, says a lot. By the way, there was no clue that she would be born with a problem. Mom is a nurse practitioner and had no clue til birth.

“I just suggested that it would have been smarter for the parents to have been tested for Tay-Sachs markers before making the decision to pro-create. This woman just refuses to take responsibility for her own decisions.”

Correct. I don’t know a single person of Ashkenazi Jewish decent who doesn’t know their Tay-Sachs carrier status.

The fact that TWO irresponsible idiots procreated is THEIR fault, not the fault of the innocent child.

28
posted on 03/01/2012 3:24:29 PM PST
by Jewbacca
(The residents of Iroquois territory may not determine whether Jews may live in Jerusalem.)

I have two sets of neighbors who have children with severe disabilities, and none of the four parents would, as far as I know, prefer that their children had been killed either in the womb or at birth. I have very strong reasons to believe that all four love their children and cherish the opportunity to be parents to such wonderful blessings from God. No doubt, they would have preferred healthy children, but they are happy with the wonderful children they do have. My wife and I have one child with a moderate disability (significant enough that everyone notices the first time they see my child, but it’s not completely disabling). I have never even thought about such horrible things as this woman openly says about her own child. Once again, liberals disgust me.

30
posted on 03/01/2012 3:37:01 PM PST
by Pollster1
(Natural born citizen of the USA, with the birth certificate to prove it)

The world may have already aborted the PERSON or People who were destined to cure cancer, aids, or develop free nonpolluting energy or cured multiple sclerosis...the list is endless. Or maybe we've already aborted the person that can predict when cold heartless, evil broads like this author are going to be born so we can all be ready to mock and shame her?

Have the gates of Hell just been thrown wide open in the last few days, or what? Every filthy, vile, loathsome, disgusting act imaginable is being promoted without shame or hesitation in the public forum. First those guys in Australia who support “post-birth” abortion as ethical, then that slut from Georgetown Law demanding subsidized debauchery, and now this.

How long, oh Lord, how long?

34
posted on 03/01/2012 4:16:52 PM PST
by ishmac
(Lady Thatcher:"There are no permanent defeats in politics because there are no permanent victories.)

She's not Jewish, though her husband is. She says she had herself tested anyway and it came back negative. She suspects there was some new mutation in her case that the test didn't detect.

There is something a little exploitative about what she's doing here. Some parading of her talents and emotions and opinions and anger with a long resume of her credentials affixed (Go here, for example)-- a public display of things most of us would want to keep private.

But I suspect she has some ambivalence about what she should do and how she should feel and a lot of things are going through her mind now. She felt like this at the time and couldn't resist writing about it and sending it in to be published. How she'll feel about it tomorrow or the next day, I couldn't say.

Disclaimer:
Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.